small portable pencil sharpener for artists.He ended up with a product that made sharpening your pencil a neat and clean experience. The pencil was placed into the opening of the sharpener and rotated by hand until desired sharpness was reached. Instead of falling on the floor, the shavings remained inside the sharpener to be disposed of at a more convenient time. Over a hundred years later, people around the world continue to use his invention in some form. Black inventor John Lee Love received his patent (#594,114) on November 23, 1897, only four years after his previous invention of the "Plasterer's Hawk", which was used to spread plaster or mortar.
The next time you sharpen your pencil, make sure to remember the African American famous inventor, John Lee Love.